“Take me to church”: Muslims go to mass for solidarity

23,000 Muslims across Italy have said “no” to terrorism by attending Sunday service

stefania d’ignoti
04 Agosto 2016

The Italian Muslim communities of Rome, Milan, Turin and other major cities from the Alps to Sicily, attended Catholic Sunday mass yesterday in a show of solidarity, as their French counterparts did the same. On July 28th, the French Council of the Muslim Faith sent out an invitation to imams and Muslim faithful to go to the church closest to home on Sunday morning “to express solidarity and mourn the victims of the most recent terror attacks by IS militants”.

Italian Muslim communities decided to follow France’s example and do the same. Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, said the decision is a clear rejection of terrorism and proof that there is no war of religions. The Italian Religious Islamic Community decided to create this initiative to begin “a spiritual brotherhood path” in honor of the recent events of terrorism that have impacted the Muslim communities of Europe, in particular the case of Jacques Hamel, the French priest killed in a terror attack on July 26th in his church of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, in Rouen. From North to South, Italian churches welcomed imams and Muslim delegations to speak at the beginning of the mass. “It seems necessary as members of the Muslim community in Italy to pay our respects to the ministers and Christian places of worship” Yahya Pallavicini, President of the Islamic Community in Rome, told La Stampa.

Bagnasco, in a speech at World Youth Day in Krakow, underlined that there is no such a thing as a religious conflict. He said the presence of Muslims in the churches of Italy is a first step “to gather all religions around a universal value: peace”. Bagnasco’s comment, similar to that of other Italian bishops, drew criticism from some.

“Bagnasco approves the initiative of Muslims going to church. What nonsense!”

“I really don’t understand the reason [for the criticism],” Bagnasco told Vatican Radio. “The gesture should be appreciated just for what it is, like the bishops did,” Massimo Introvigne, sociologist of religion and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions, told Vatican Insider. “Its impact should not be overestimated since experience has taught us that the radicalized minority does not take into account the opinion of the majority of Muslims. But it shouldn’t be underestimated either for its positive, symbolic meaning,” he added.

In Turin, one of Italy’s major northern cities and home to more than 45,000 Muslims, a Muslim delegation attended the weekly Sunday mass at Turin’s main church, Basilica della Consolata, where the President of the Islamic Community of the Alps, Mohamed El Bahi, the imam of Turin’s Rayan mosque, Mustapha Naitichou, and the spokesman of the Islamic Community of the Alps, Brahim Baya, all spoke at the beginning of the mass, attended by Catholic worshippers and young male and female representatives of Turin’s Muslim community. “As-salamu alaikum” the President started. “We’re here to bring our condolences for the killing of Jacques Hamel. This crime is in clear opposition to the teachings of Islam, and we, as a community, denounce the most recent terroristic events.” Baya commented in an email to Vatican Insider that the teachings of the Quran show a strong connection between the two communities. “We came to the Sunday mass to reaffirm this proximity more strongly, because the recent events could cause misunderstandings. We refuse all violence in the name of God”, he said.

At the end of the mass, a few Christian worshippers expressed their views on the morning event. Chiara, a 30-year-old Catholic , who asked that her surname not be used, said she “was expecting more Muslims to join the mass…but at least it’s a start.” She is confident, however, that she’ll see more opportunities for interreligious dialogue in the future.

Turin, in fact, seems to lead in Italy in its acceptance of Muslims. On February 9th, 2016 representatives from over 20 Islamic organizations in Turin and the city officials signed the “Patto di Condivisione,” or “Pact of Sharing”, a document establishing official institutional relations with the Muslim community of Turin.

Meanwhile, in Sicily, another Italian region with a high density Muslim population, Monsignor Domenico Mogavero, bishop of Mazara del Vallo, told Avvenire, a national newspaper, that he sees “everyday how Muslims live here and how they behave towards Catholics: with great respect. This coexistence is a sign of hope. Hasn’t this gone on since the times of Philipp II?” In Mazara del Vallo, on the Western coast of Sicily, about 3,000 Muslims live in a village of 50,000. For decades, the city has been the symbol of Christian-Muslim coexistence, not only because of its Islamic Empire past, but also because of its geographical proximity and close trade relations with the Maghreb region, that gave birth to a strong community of Muslims from Northern Africa – especially Tunisians – in Mazara, and an equally large community of Sicilians in Tunisia.

Sicily in general is deemed to be a strong symbol of the beginning of dialogue between Muslims and Christians in Italy. Catania, on the opposite side of the island, was the first Italian city to build a mosque on its soil. Father Piero Galvano, President of Caritas Catania, is happy to see this initiative taking place. “We assist hundreds of Muslim migrants, asylum seekers and refugees every year. I’ve seen many since I took on the role of president in 2014. Some of them come every Sunday to the mass I give for the poor. They listen, they pay respect,” he tells Vatican Insider. Galvano believes these moments are the only opportunity to build a stronger Italian community, and he was not surprised about the Italian Islamic Community’s decision to join Catholic mass on a national level. “Partnering up with mosques and synagogues is necessary to rediscover the common roots of the three main Abrahamic religions, the pillar of our Mediterranean region”.

Islamis still not an officially-recognized religion in Italy, even though it is the second largest faith after Catholicism. The issue of incorporating Islam into Italy’s religious landscape has become more pressing as the number of Muslim refugees from the Middle East and Africa arriving in Italy through Lampedusa and other hotspots rose after the Arab uprisings. Efforts by Italian Muslim communities to show solidarity with their Catholic neighbors suggest even more reason to bring this issue back into debate.